Intermittent Fasting to Get Back On Track

Going on a diet usually means that you moderately cut calories every day, but some diets require you to drastically reduce calories just a few days a week. Although this approach, known as intermittent fasting, was roundly decried at first by health experts as unhealthy, recent evidence shows it might not be so bad.

In fact, a growing body of research suggests that intermittent fasting works just as well as traditional dieting for people who want to lose weight and that some people may even find it easier to stick with this approach because there are fewer days when self-discipline is needed. Some nutritionists who had previously advised against skipping meals now say they have changed their minds based on new research and recommend intermittent fasting for some people who want to try it.

“We in the nutrition community always thought it was bad” to skip meals, said Katherine Tallmadge, a registered dietitian and past national spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “But based on my experience and these studies combined, I think it’s great,” said Tallmadge, who now recommends a variation of intermittent fasting to a small minority of her clients.

However, experts caution that intermittent fasting isn’t right for everyone, and there are some drawbacks to using this approach instead of a traditional diet.

For example, intermittent fasting is intended to be used only for the short term, so there’s a risk that people could gain the weight back when they come off the diet, said Lauren Popeck, a registered dietitian at Orlando Health in Florida.

“Coming off one of these intermittent-fasting plans, the person would really need to have a maintenance plan, or a plan they’re going to be following afterwards, so they don’t end up overeating and gaining all the weight back,” Popeck said.

Also, there have been few studies on the long-term effectiveness of intermittent fasting, Popeck added.

How to do it

Intermittent fasting involves significantly cutting calories on some days and eating regularly the rest of the time. Some people fast every other day, while others try the “5:2 diet,” which involves fasting just two days a week. On fasting days, people eat about one-fourth of what they would eat in a typical day, around 400 to 600 calories.

Recent studies suggest that the method is effective for weight loss. A review study published last April found that people on intermittent-fasting diets lost about 9 percent of their body weight over six months — about the same amount of weight loss seen in studies of traditional dieting. And about 80 percent of the participants were able to stick with the diet.

In another study, published in 2011, women who were overweight or obese were randomly assigned to either an intermittent-fasting diet, in which they ate 540 calories two days a week, or a regular diet, in which they ate 1,500 calories every day. After six months, women in both groups lost a similar amount of weight, about 11 to 13 pounds.

Tallmadge advises clients who want to try intermittent fasting to fast in the evenings twice a week, meaning they skip dinner or eat something small such as yogurt or fruit. Overall, this means they consume about two-thirds of their usual calorie intake on fasting days, or about 1,300 calories instead of their typical 2,000, she said.

Intermittent fasting may work well for people who are used to skipping meals or who feel as though they are too busy to eat, Popeck said. On the other hand, this approach might not work for those who like to snack every few hours. People who are diabetic also would not be advised to try this diet, because going long periods without eating could cause their blood sugar to drop too low, Popeck said.

Although it seems logical that people would overeat on the days when they don’t fast, they often don’t. The fasting slows their metabolic rate, which lowers appetite, Popeck said.

Still, some people have a tendency to binge on non-fasting days, so this diet would not work for them, Popeck said.

Tallmadge stressed that people should be careful to eat nutrient-dense foodson their fasting days, meaning foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains that have lots of nutrients relative to their calories.

And people should still have an eating plan for non-fasting days, a plan that allows them to eat about the same number of calories they need to maintain their weight. But if they slip up on these days, the intermittent-fasting diet is a little more forgiving than traditional dieting.

“It’s not as detrimental if you have a little slip,” because people make up for it on their fasting days and can still end up losing weight, Tallmadge said.

Doing your Labs with DFW Hormones cost substantially less than other Providers and results are interpreted quickly and in understandable terms.

Click here for in office pricing

Subscribe

We occasionally send emails to people like you who are interested in hormonal health. Sign up today to join our list!

Your privacy is very important to us & we do not share your information.

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Thank you!

The information contained on this site is intended strictly for research and informational purposes only. It does not, in any way, establish a provider/patient relationship with any individual and does not constitute medical advice, directives, or care. You should speak with your personal health care provider before making any changes in your medical treatment and follow their instructions for care. The information provided is publicly available and cannot be considered complete nor is it intended to diagnose, or direct treatment for, any medical condition. The content must not be used to substitute a medical exam, and/or management of any health issue by a qualified medical provider.